HoUingpr 

pH 85 

Mill Run H)3.2193 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 

Daughters of the American Revolution 



congrE:ss held in Washington, d. c, 

APRIL, 1905, 



Mrs. a. a. BLOW, of Virginia, 

Chairman John Smith Monument Committee of the Association 
for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. 



It is with great pleasure that I avail myself of the privilege 
of coming before you to propose to the Daughters of the 
American Revolution a patriotic duty, which I am sure will 
arouse your enthusiasm, and to ask the powerful influence 
of our Society in recognizing and honoring the name and 
deeds of the first great man in American history, a work which 
we, as a patriotic order of American women, owe to our 
country, to posterity, and to the history of the civilized world. 

The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiqui- 
ties, a society of which many of you are members, has re- 
quested me to organize an undertaking, which, with your 
assistance, will fittingly commemorate the earliest events of 
our history and to accord but tardy recognition and honor 
to the one great man to whom we are most indebted for our 






national existence, to Capt. John Smith, the President of Vir- 
ginia, and the first Admiral of New England, the real founder 
and preserver of the Anglo-Saxon in America. This Associ- 
ation has highly honored me with the appointment of Chair- 
man of the John Smith Memorial Committee, a position which 
I consider a special compliment, and have accepted with pleas- 
ure, as the memory and achievements of John Smith in the 
early settlements of this, our country, are as dear to us of 
New England ancestry as to our sisters of the Sunny South. 

HEROIC AND CHIVALROUS FIGURE. 

The American nation, for which we Daughters feel such 
love and pride, which sentiments we wish to transmit witli 
fervor to our children and to our children's children, has in 
the past three centuries attained a place in the world's history 
which is tmprecedented. From this point we, as a united 
people, may pause in our prosperity and commemorate with 
pride and justice the honored names which have contributed 
in making this great country. To do this is a proud heritage, 
which this progressive and patriotic order claims as a duty. 
But in recording and preserving the anniversaries of our 
memorable events and in setting up mile-stones of our histor}' 
and honoring in song and story the patriots, statesmen, pion- 
eers, and soldiers who have made it, we have strangely neg- 
lected the foundation stone of our existence as an Anglo- 
Saxon people, and forgotten and ignored the one heroic, in- 
trepid and chivalrous figure who shaped and planted it, Capt. 
John Smith. 

The story of the Mayflower and the record of the deeds of 
our Pilgrim fathers in the settlement of Massachusetts are 
well known to every person, but there are few in this audience 
who can tell with the same facility the names of the three 
small vessels, the Susan Constant, the Goodspeed, and the Dis- 
covery, which found a haven and dropped anchor in the Ches- 
apeake Bay on the 24th of this month, 1607, thirteen years 
before the Pilgrim fathers landed on PIvmouth Rock and 



stamped their noble characteristics upon this nation, which 
momentous event has already been alluded to by our sister 
from the Palmetto State on Monday in her greetings from 
the South. 

The colony which these argonauts settled on Jamestown 
Island was thus the first spark of successful English settle- 
ment on this continent, and to one man above all others, 
Capt. John Smith, can be attributed the Anglo-Saxon settle- 
ment of America. To his skill, perseverance, fortitude and 
indomitable courage the preservation of the colony can alone 
be attributed. To him we owe our Anglo-Saxon lineage, 
laws, libertv. and language, for had the Jamestown colony 
failed, as did its predecessors on Roanoke Island, America 
would have been absorbed by the adventurers of Spain, who 
were forcing their settlements northward from ^lexico and 
Florida, and the expedition of the Pilgrim fathers and their 
latter settlements in Massachusetts might never have been 
heard of. 

BEFORE THE PLYMOUTH SETTLEMENT. 

I know my New England, shall I say fellow-daughters, will 
rather question this, unless they remember that New England 
was discovered, surveyed, mapped, and named by John Smith 
seven years before the settlement of Plymouth, and that he 
also gave the name to New England and Boston, and to many 
other localities, which are still retained. But far more im- 
portant still, is the fact that through the maps, charts and de- 
scriptions of Capt. John Smith, our Pilgrim fathers were first 
induced to make their home in the New World. John Smith 
is, therefore, the first discoverer, explorer, geographer, and 
historian of New England, as he was of Virginia, which, as 
he himself terms, were the "Virgin Sisters of the New World."* 

It is not my purpose to discuss the remarkable characteris- 
tics and noble achievements and exceptional brilliancy of this 
great man. Fortunately, his own works and those of other 
chroniclers show conclusively what he accomplished, and the 
meas-re reward he has received at the hands of this prosperous 



nation. Suffice it to say regarding- him, that should you read 
his own histories you will be filled with the same grateful en- 
thusiasm which I endeavor to give you regarding his char- 
acter. 

You will see that he was a man, young, brave, and experi- 
enced as a soldier and pioneer. At the age of twenty-nine he 
had already served in the wars in Europe, been knighted for 
his achievements in Hungary and in Transylvania and had 
been appointed by the London Compan}^ as one of the first 
directors of the Virginia Colony, which at that time, by royal 
charter, embraced the entire coast of the United States from 
Nova Scotia to South Carolina. You would see that John 
Smith, President of Virginia, and Admiral of New England, 
to give him his official titles, was one of the most remarkable 
characters in our entire history, as a soldier, statesman and 
author, geographer, poet, and a clear-headed, practical Eng- 
lish gentleman of highest moral character, and the one to 
whom we are more indebted than any man who ever crossed 
the Atlantic Ocean, excepting possibly Christopher Columbus. 

SHOWN BY HTS MEMOIRS. 

To show his love and loyalty to his country, he states himself 
in his memoirs, written in 1624: "This Virgin Sister, New- 
England, at my humble suit, by our most gracious Prince 
Charles, hath been chargeable to me, for which I ne'er got one 
shilling, but it cost me many a pound ; yet I think myself happy 
to see their prosperities, for in neither of these two countries 
(Virginia and New England) have I one foot of land, nor the 
very house I builded, nor the ground I digged with mine own 
hands, nor even any content or satisfaction at all." 

Nearly three hundred years have passed and this condition 
still continues, for to this great character, standing alone in 
the very dawn of our existence, there is not a monument com.- 
memorating him in stone or metal, either in the country of his 
birth or the country which he wrested from the Spaniards 
and the savage, and I ask you, ladies, shall this neglect con- 
tinue ? 



I earnestly desire to secure the co-operation of every patri- 
otic society in America, as well as every individual American 
man or woman who is blessed with the pride of their country, 
to help us place in memory of Capt. John Smith a heroic 
monument in a fitting place and in a manner worthy of our 
appreciation of him and his achievements. 

We have not yet decided the exact locality for the monu- 
ment, but three have been suggested; one on Jamestown 
Island, one on the spot the expedition first landed at Cape 
Henry at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, on April 24, 1607, 
and the third on an island made by the United States gov- 
ernment, facing the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, between 
Cape Charles and Cape Henry. The consent of the govern- 
ment would have to be gained for the latter place, but many 
members of Congress have ofifered their help in this matter, 
which could probably be arranged without difficulty. 

I am sure you will all agree with me even now. if noi. 
certainly when you have carefully considered our duty in this 
matter, that it will be the privilege, as well as the pleasure of 
each member of every patriotic society in our country, espe- 
cially those of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 
to aid us in every way in her power in carrying this plan to a 
successful issue. 

HIS TRIBUTE TO WOMANKIND. 

It is moreover, especially appropriate and befitting that the 
women of America should take the initiative steps and, if pos- 
sible, the entire charge of this patriotic movement. You will 
probably ask, Why is this the case? I will answer you in as 
few words as possible. It appears in the memoirs of John 
Smith, in his dedication of his book to the Duchess of Rich- 
mond and Gordon, descriptive of Virginia and New England, 
that he gracefully attributes all of his successes and comforts 
in life to the ladies in the following quaint and beautiful lan- 
sruage : 



6 

"Yet my comfort is, that heretofore honorable and vertuous 
Ladies, and comparable but amongst themselues, haue offered 
me rescue and protection in my greatest dangers ; even in for- 
raine parts. The beauteous Lady Tragabizanda, when I was 
a slaue to the Turkas, did all she could to secure me. When 
I overcame the Bashaw of Kalbrits in Tartaria, the Charita- 
ble Lady Callamata supplyed my necessities. In the vtmost 
of many extremities, that blessed Pokahontas. the great King's 
daughter of Virginia, oft saved my life. When I escaped 
the crueltie of Pirats and most furious stormes, a long time 
alone in a small boat at sea, and driven ashore in France, the 
good Lady Madam Chanoyes, bountifully assisted me." 

What is then more fitting than that the women of the pres- 
ent day should continue to do honor to a man of this character 
and chivalrous nature, by thus perpetuating his memory? 
Therefore, I wish to ask of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution their hearty co-operation and assistance in this 
national commemoration, which I earnestly hope will meet 
the unanimous approval of this Congress now assembled. I 
am assured this movement will in no way conflict with any 
previous undertaking of the Daughters of the American Rev- 
olution. I have also great pleasure in announcing to you 
that our efforts have met with the indorsement of our distin- 
guished President-General, Mrs. Charles Warren Fairbanks, 
who has consented to become the honorary chairman of the 
John Smith Monument Committee, and I beg that this Con- 
gress take such action as they deem proper to secure the as- 
sistance of every Chapter of the Daughters of the x'Ymerican 
Revolution from Maine to Texas, and from Virginia to Cali- 
fornia, with the object of commemorating the birth of our 
nation by erecting a monunient to Capt. John Smith, bearing 
the following beautiful and Christianlike sentiment written 
by himself, and which could only emanate from a man whom 
this glorious nation should delight to honor : 

"Then seeino- we are not borne for our selues, but each to 



lielpe other, and our a bilities are much alike at the houre of 
our birth, and the minute of our death : seeing our good deedes. 
or our badde, by faith in Christ's merits, is all we haue to car- 
rie our soules to hauen, or hell: Seeing honour is our Hues 
ambition and our ambition after death, to haue an honorable 
memorie of our life : and seeing by noe meanes wee would bee 
abated of the dignities and glories of our Predecessors ; let 
vs imitate their vertues to bee worthily their successors." 



In order to organize an active movement for the erection 
of a lasting monument to Captain John Smith, the Associa- 
tion for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities created a 
committee, of which Airs. A. A. Blow, of Gloucester county, 
Virginia, was made chairman, with authority to add to her 
organization, and to solicit such contributions and assistance 
as the Committee might deem expedient. 

In furtherance of the object, Mrs. Blow made the above ad- 
dress. She has also obtained the consent of the Secretary of 
War, subject to such approval as by law may be necessary, 
to erect on the site of Fort Calhoun (the Rip Raps), in front 
of Fort JMonroe, a statue or beacon-light statue to John Smith, 
if the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiqui- 
ties shall deem that a proper place. 

Mrs. Blow's address before the Daughters of the American 
Revolution was most cordially received by that body, and its 
purpose was unanimously approved. The address was sec- 
onded by several prominent members of the D. A. R. Con- 
gress, and the address itself ordered to be printed in the min- 
utes of their proceedings. 

The John Smith Committee propose to ask every Chapter 
of the D. A. R., also every Chapter of every patriotic order 
in America to contribute to the construction of the pedestal 
of the John Smith monument, a dimension-stone suitablv in- 
scribed with the names of the donors. 



As soon as the plans of the pedestal are complete, the dimen- 
sions of such stones will be sent out. 

The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiqui- 
ties earnestly requests your personal assistance and contribu- 
tion in aid of this patriotic movement, which we desire to 
have completed by 1907. 

Mrs. Joseph Bryan, 
President A. P. V. A. 



Address all correspondence and contributions to 

Mrs. A. A. Blow, 
"Belleville," 

Gloucester, Virginia. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 434 311 6 % 



Hollinger 

pH 8^ 

Mai Run R)3.2193 



